Prophecy. An ARKANE thriller. (Book 2) by J.F. Penn Read Free Book Online

 
    She stood, looking around in desperation, oxygen mask discarded by her side. In that moment, she saw the orderly who had been in the corridor just before the explosions. He was getting into the back of the ambulance that Dinah had been put in. Heart racing, Morgan looked for a way to stop the vehicle before it drove off. She knew the man would finish what he had started if that door closed.  
    Behind her, a policeman was taking a statement and, like all Israeli police, he had a handgun in his belt. She knew the Jericho 941 semi-automatic would be enough to stop the man, if she could use it in time. Spinning round, she caught the policeman off guard and unclipped his gun in one movement. Morgan ran towards the back door of the ambulance as she aimed the weapon. The policeman pursued her, shouting at his colleagues to bring her down.  
    Morgan could see the ambulance door closing and the face of the orderly as he grinned in triumph. He was hurrying to close the door, kicking away the other paramedic who had been helping, all pretense now gone. She had to take the shot before the police stopped her or Dinah would be lost. In those milliseconds, Morgan took advantage of the tunnel vision and slowed time that adrenalin provides. She fired. One, two shots through the gap of the door. Seeing the orderly drop in the back of the van, she threw the gun to the ground and herself to her knees. Arms up, palms out in surrender, showing the weapon was gone.
    “I’m IDF” she shouted. Police surrounded her, guns pointing straight at her head.  

Zoebios Head Office. Paris, France. 9.24am

    The subject was a forty-two year old accountant professing a moderate Catholicism that involved going to confession twice a year. He had estimated two out of ten for the importance of religious experience in his life. Of course, these questions were hidden in a raft of others that ensured the subject couldn’t prepare for the experience and had no expectation of what they might feel. Dr Maria Van Garre was nevertheless experiencing a thrill of anticipation, as they only had a few more subjects to complete the research. Already the results were clear and tomorrow she would present them to the Board. The trials on the audio for anxiety and depression had been successful and fast-tracked to public release. But her academic drive had urged her to take the technology further into the realms of direct influence on behavior. She was fascinated by how far the obedience studies could be taken and now sought additional funding for the next step.  
    “Is that comfortable?” She adjusted the eye mask to make sure the cotton wool padding was tight against the subject’s eyes. “It’s important that you can’t see anything.”  
    “That’s fine. So what should I be expecting?”
    “It’s a completely individual experience, Mr … ” Maria checked the clipboard.  
    “Agineux.”
    “Of course. You should just relax and let whatever happens, happen. Just be an observer.”
    “But it won’t hurt?”
    “Of course not. The field is actually weaker than a fridge magnet,” Maria replied in a soothing tone, trying not to sound like she did this several times a day. “I’m going to put the helmet on you now and then you won’t be able to hear me anymore. Once it’s in place, just lie back and relax. You’ll hear rainfall at first as a way to help you focus. Just concentrate on breathing evenly and enjoy having a rest. I’ll squeeze your hand before I leave the room so you’ll know the experiment is about to begin and I’ll come and get you afterwards.”
    “Beats a few hours at work anyhow.” The man smiled, but his blinking eyes betrayed his nerves.  
    Maria put the helmet over his head and he pulled it into place so it fitted snugly. She fastened the strap under his chin, ensuring the markers were in the correct place to focus the weak magnetic field onto the temporal lobe. She helped him lie back and then squeezed his hand. Walking to